Finishing Cycle or Withdrawing and Re-applying

[rsb299]

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Hello everyone. I have found myself in a bit of a precarious situation within this application cycle. I applied in the summer (to exclusively MD schools) before having received my first MCAT score, which I took on 8/2. I was complete everywhere on 9/2 when my score came back. Looking back now, this was a horrendous mistake; I scored a 25 (9 PS/9 VR/7 BS). This score was sure failure at all of the schools I had applied to, so in mid-September I started looking into DO schools and the Puerto Rican schools (since I also speak Spanish). I ended up applying to 9 DO schools and to San Juan Bautista and Ponce. I received an interview right away at SJB, attended it, had a nice experience, and I liked the school. I attended an interview at PCOM last week and also liked the school.

After I received my MCAT score, I was very worried that my 25 could keep me out of all the medical schools to which I had applied so I decided to buckle down and put 2 more months into studying in October and November and I took the 12/6 exam. I scored a 30 on it (10 PS/9 VR/11 BS). My issue is this: I have been rejected by my entire MD school list (excluding the two PR schools and Drexel), so the score of 30 is useless for allopathic schools in this cycle. I am trying to decide whether or not it would be prudent to just withdraw from all my remaining schools, before receiving an acceptance, and re-apply this summer with a broader list of MD schools as well as a few DO schools (because I also applied late to these due to the physician letter requirement).

On the one hand, I still have a chance at two MD schools, SJB and Ponce, schools that I like very much but concern me a little because of the added difficulty of occasionally having lectures in Spanish and doing all clinical work in Spanish. I also have a good chance at PCOM (who will take my latest MCAT score), which is a school that I liked very much but it would not have been my top choice going into the cycle. On the other hand, if I withdrew my applications I could apply as early as possible and would be a much more competitive (relative to my competitiveness this cycle) applicant in the next cycle at all schools.

This is my major dilemma. I am not sure how much more competitive a 30 makes me, especially since that 25 will always be tagging along. Some schools will consider only the most recent, but not all. If I see out this cycle and I receive an acceptance from a PR school or from a DO school, I would be very happy, but at the same time it would mean that my application days are over (operating under the assumption that declining an acceptance would end all chances for ever receiving another medical school acceptance), and I would wonder if I maybe cut myself off from having a wider range of opportunities by not re-applying.

Has anyone had any experience with something like this? If anyone wants more information I would be happy to provide it. Thank you everyone.

My GPA is 3.6 and my sGPA is 3.56.

 

[Serous Demilune]

It's ultimately a personal decision. Do you want to spend another year applying to medical school, or push for an acceptance now and start in August? If you decide to pull out, you MUST do it before you get accepted somewhere or you will have a huge red flag against you while you are applying next year.

If I were you i would stick it out. Applying next year as a reapplicant with a 30 and a 3.6 will definitely not guarantee you any acceptances to non-PR MD schools. But it's your decision.

 

[Catalystik]

Hello everyone. I have found myself in a bit of a precarious situation within this application cycle. I applied in the summer (to exclusively MD schools) before having received my first MCAT score, which I took on 8/2. I was complete everywhere on 9/2 when my score came back. Looking back now, this was a horrendous mistake; I scored a 25 (9 PS/9 VR/7 BS). This score was sure failure at all of the schools I had applied to, so in mid-September I started looking into DO schools and the Puerto Rican schools (since I also speak Spanish). I ended up applying to 9 DO schools and to San Juan Bautista and Ponce. I received an interview right away at SJB, attended it, had a nice experience, and I liked the school. I attended an interview at PCOM last week and also liked the school.

After I received my MCAT score, I was very worried that my 25 could keep me out of all the medical schools to which I had applied so I decided to buckle down and put 2 more months into studying in October and November and I took the 12/6 exam. I scored a 30 on it (10 PS/9 VR/11 BS). My issue is this: I have been rejected by my entire MD school list (excluding the two PR schools), so the score of 30 is useless for allopathic schools in this cycle. I am trying to decide whether or not it would be prudent to just withdraw from all my remaining schools, before receiving an acceptance, and re-apply this summer with a broader list of MD schools as well as a few DO schools (because I also applied late to these due to the physician letter requirement).

On the one hand, I still have a chance at two MD schools, SJB and Ponce, schools that I like very much but concern me a little because of the added difficulty of occasionally having lectures in Spanish and doing all clinical work in Spanish. I also have a good chance at PCOM (who will take my latest MCAT score), which is a school that I liked very much but it would not have been my top choice going into the cycle. On the other hand, if I withdrew my applications I could apply as early as possible and would be a much more competitive (relative to my competitiveness this cycle) applicant in the next cycle at all schools.

This is my major dilemma. I am not sure how much more competitive a 30 makes me, especially since that 25 will always be tagging along. Some schools will consider only the most recent, but not all. If I see out this cycle and I receive an acceptance from a PR school or from a DO school, I would be very happy, but at the same time it would mean that my application days are over (operating under the assumption that declining an acceptance would end all chances for ever receiving another medical school acceptance), and I would wonder if I maybe cut myself off from having a wider range of opportunities by not re-applying.

Has anyone had any experience with something like this? If anyone wants more information I would be happy to provide it. Thank you everyone.

My GPA is 3.6 and my sGPA is 3.56.

Are the ECs in your MDapps up to date? If so, I think your likelihood of failure in a second application cycle would be higher than the 43% that AMCAS historic odds tables would predict for a 3.6/30 (at those schools that don't average multiple MCAT scores).

 

[ridethecliche]

You school list makes no sense...

Why would you apply to harvard, TCMC, Tufts, Pitt, BU, etc? You only applied to like 5 schools!

 

[rsb299]

Are the ECs in your MDapps up to date? If so, I think your likelihood of failure in a second application cycle would be higher than the 43% that AMCAS historic odds tables would predict for a 3.6/30 (at those schools that don't average multiple MCAT scores).

@Catalystik My MDapps profile is a very cursory list of my ECs. I have hundreds of hours of volunteering in a variety of different settings that I completed during the 3.5 months I was in Peru, from a home for the severely disabled, to a general rehabilitation clinic, to the regional hospital emergency room, where I worked triage. I also have about 50 hours worth of shadowing, I was a Chem. TA in college, all stuff that is on my actual application but I didn't feel was necessary or worthwhile to include in my MDapps page. I have, since applying, started working as a scribe in the ED (emergency medicine is an area that I've really enjoyed so far and with which I'd like more exposure), worked as tutor for elementary school kids in math and 9th/10th grade kids in Bio, Physics or Chemistry, coached 9th/10th grade soccer at the high school where I graduated and I've been volunteering with a local hospice care network, speaking with families as well as doing some clerical work too. I've gotten some really wonderful and worthwhile experience since graduating from college and after applying in the summer so I think I'll be able to add some attractive pieces to my application in the next cycle if that becomes necessary.

You school list makes no sense...

Why would you apply to harvard, TCMC, Tufts, Pitt, BU, etc? You only applied to like 5 schools!

@ridethecliche I applied to 23 schools. I also had a weak original list which I had concocted before I had received my first MCAT score. Here is the current cycle's list with current results:

(Allopathic)
1. Harvard (Pre-rejected; they don't send out rejections before the end of the cycle)
2. Drexel (Silent)
3. SLU (Silent, although I don't think they send out rejections before the end of the cycle, either)
4. Ponce, PR (Silent; last year they didn't consider OOS students until after January, and they only interviewed 16 out of ~860)
5. University of Pittsburgh (Rejected)
6. Tulane (Rejected)
7. University of Missouri - Columbia (Rejected)
8. The Commonwealth Medical College (Rejected)
9. Boston University (Rejected)
10. George Washington (Rejected)
11. Tufts (Rejected)
12. Jefferson (Rejected)
13. Creighton (Rejected)
14. San Juan Bautista (Interview 11/12, first committee meeting for acceptances is this Friday, allegedly)
(Osteopathic, applied late in cycle)
15. AT Still KCOM (Silent)
16. Chicago at Midwestern (Silent)
17. NYIT (Silent)
18. PCOM - PA (Interview 1/14, could hear anytime from now through the next 5 weeks)
19. PCOM - GA (Silent)
20. LMUCOM (Silent)
21. Pikeville (Silent)
22. Campbell (Silent)
23. Alabama COM (Silent)

That's the whole list. Also note that the newer schools don't appear on MDapps because they haven't been added into their database.

 

[rsb299]

It's ultimately a personal decision. Do you want to spend another year applying to medical school, or push for an acceptance now and start in August? If you decide to pull out, you MUST do it before you get accepted somewhere or you will have a huge red flag against you while you are applying next year.

If I were you i would stick it out. Applying next year as a reapplicant with a 30 and a 3.6 will definitely not guarantee you any acceptances to non-PR MD schools. But it's your decision.

@Serous Demilune Thank you for your reply. I have lately been leaning heavily toward enduring this cycle and hoping for the best. Attending San Juan Bautista or PCOM both would come with their share of positives and neither would prevent me from exploring areas of medicine in which I am interested. The most competitive field I am looking at is emergency medicine, and in that case, I, myself, am the limiting factor in achieving that, not the school. I am aware of the unwritten rule that declining an acceptance and re-applying destroys your chances, which I think is a good thing, but it means I need to tread carefully with this because receiving an acceptance at either school ends my cycle and closes the door on applying in the future.

 

[NYCdude]

If you're gonna reapply, you need to withdraw ASAP before you get an acceptance.

Are you URM? If so, I think you'd have a decent shot at a lot of low-tier MD programs if you apply early and would almost be a lock for top DO's like NYCOM and PCOM.

 

[rsb299]

If you're gonna reapply, you need to withdraw ASAP before you get an acceptance.

Are you URM? If so, I think you'd have a decent shot at a lot of low-tier MD programs if you apply early and would almost be a lock for top DO's like NYCOM and PCOM.

@NYCdude Thank you for the reply. No, I am not a URM, I am very, very white. Regardless, having a 30 MCAT as a white male will still put me in the mix at plenty of "lower-tier" MD schools. The main issue I have is deciding if it makes me competitive enough to risk 2 post-interview decisions this cycle for the unknown of re-applying with two MCAT scores, neither of which are stellar. Is it worth the risk without any guarantee of even making it as far as I did this cycle? Lately I feel it would be foolish to turn away from these chances at good programs just because I think I might have more choices or I might have a chance at one of my very top choices.

 

[nOchemallday]

Perhaps my advice is skewed because of my experience with this whole process, but an acceptance (MD or DO) is an acceptance. 4 years from now you call yourself doctor and never look back. Obligatory a bird in the hand is better than 2 in the bush.

 

[Catalystik]

@Catalystik My MDapps profile is a very cursory list of my ECs. I have hundreds of hours of volunteering in a variety of different settings that I completed during the 3.5 months I was in Peru, from a home for the severely disabled, to a general rehabilitation clinic, to the regional hospital emergency room, where I worked triage. I also have about 50 hours worth of shadowing, I was a Chem. TA in college, all stuff that is on my actual application but I didn't feel was necessary or worthwhile to include in my MDapps page. I have, since applying, started working as a scribe in the ED (emergency medicine is an area that I've really enjoyed so far and with which I'd like more exposure), worked as tutor for elementary school kids in math and 9th/10th grade kids in Bio, Physics or Chemistry, coached 9th/10th grade soccer at the high school where I graduated and I've been volunteering with a local hospice care network, speaking with families as well as doing some clerical work too. I've gotten some really wonderful and worthwhile experience since graduating from college and after applying in the summer so I think I'll be able to add some attractive pieces to my application in the next cycle if that becomes necessary.

Thank you for the reassurance that you are continuing to build your ECs. Sparse US nonmedical community service and having all one's clinical experience and altruistic activities packed into 3.5 months (no matter how intense the hours), without much US shadowing experience screams out "Last minute, impulsive decision to go into medicine" which is something US MD adcomms don't much appreciate. Osteopathic schools may have a different mindset, but I'd be inclined to doubt it. If you decide to continue with the current cycle, some update letters about your newer activities might make a difference.

 

[rsb299]

Perhaps my advice is skewed because of my experience with this whole process, but an acceptance (MD or DO) is an acceptance. 4 years from now you call yourself doctor and never look back. Obligatory a bird in the hand is better than 2 in the bush.

@nOchemallday Right. And when I picked the schools I did, I made sure to look into each carefully so that I could say comfortably, "OK, if this is the only school to which I receive an acceptance, that will be OK and I will take it". Of course, I also did this before I re-took the MCAT, which is why it's muddling my thoughts at this point in the cycle. But in the end, I really don't believe I would be unhappy at either PCOM or SJB, and I could get a quality education at either school. My interviews definitely left me with positive feelings about both places.

Thank you for the reassurance that you are continuing to build your ECs. Sparse US nonmedical community service and having all one's clinical experience and altruistic activities packed into 3.5 months (no matter how intense the hours), without much US shadowing experience screams out "Last minute, impulsive decision to go into medicine" which is something US MD adcomms don't much appreciate. Osteopathic schools may have a different mindset, but I'd be inclined to doubt it. If you decide to continue with the current cycle, some update letters about your newer activities might make a difference.

@Catalystik Yes, you raise a very important concern about my application. The chronology of my volunteer hours and clinical experience are definitely a little eyebrow raising, but I worked extensively with my pre-med advisor and a family friend who is an admission committee member at a school to which I did not apply, to weave a cohesive narrative connecting all of my experiences and all of the individual pieces of my application so it doesn't appear rash, hasty or disjointed. The truth is, I hadn't decided for sure that I wanted to go into medicine before the end of my sophomore year of undergrad. My personal statement goes much more into detail about this, but basically my grandfather, who was an incredibly successful musician, a professor (and eventual professor emeritus) of music, and a conductor, talked frequently about not being allowed by his parents to go into medicine when he was young. "I was the only Jewish boy in New York whose parents wouldn't let him become a doctor". He said that until he was 95. Part of it was said in jest, because he was obviously a great musician and had a wonderful career, but he also admired the profession greatly and a part of him always felt as though there were these two parallel universes where he was a doctor in one and a musician in the other, and he wondered what he would have been like in the other. I entered undergrad as a Spanish and Business double major, which promptly changed after 1 semester. I started taking science classes just because I enjoyed them, and then I talked more with my grandfather before he passed away and with a cousin of mine who also was an athlete who took some years off of school to play professionally before doing a post-bacc and then applying to medical school. And when I had the chance to go to Peru over a summer to experience all of these different areas of healthcare, doctors, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists and learn about them and speak Spanish, I took it right away and my experiences there were what solidified my desire to study medicine.

So that's probably way more information than you really wanted to know, but I just wanted to address what you said; it is certainly jam-packed but I was trying to fill my schedule to the brim in the back half of my undergrad years to show that I was really devoted to pursuing medicine. It is hard to do much else during the year with school and with a sport that practices year-round.

 

[Catalystik]

@nOchemallday @Catalystik My personal statement goes much more into detail about this, but basically my grandfather, who was an incredibly successful musician, a professor (and eventual professor emeritus) of music, and a conductor, talked about not being allowed by his parents to go into medicine when he was young. "I was the only Jewish boy in New York whose parents wouldn't let him become a doctor". He said that until he was 95. Part of it was said in jest, because he was obviously a great musician and had a wonderful career, but he also admired the profession greatly and a part of him always felt as though there were these two parallel universes where he was a doctor in one and a musician in the other, and he wondered what he would have been like in the other.

So that's probably way more information than you really want to know.

I enjoyed the story. It drew me in.

 

[rsb299]

I enjoyed the story. It drew me in.

@Catalystik Well, that is wonderful to hear. Thank you for your advice and criticism; it seems like seeing out the remainder of this cycle is the wisest option I have, and I believe that is what I am going to do.

 

[Doug Underhill]

In general, you shouldn't apply to a school if you don't think you would matriculate there if it was your only acceptance. It wastes your money and the school's time. Your acceptance could have gone to someone else who was really excited to go there.

If you get accepted to SJB or PCOM, you should go. However, if you don't get accepted, I think going from a 25 to a 30 will bode well for you this cycle. A 5-point jump is pretty big.